Rotating gripper wafer flipper

ABSTRACT

A method for fabricating semiconductor wafers. Specifically, an arm which is constructed to hold a wafer, is mounted on a rotational device to provide a user with the means of inspecting a wafer in any position without having to physically touch the wafer or move the wafer to another inspection station. The arm provides rotation about an axis parallel to the surface of the wafer, as well as rotation about an axis run which is perpendicular to the surface of the wafer and extends through the axial center of the wafer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.09/593,358, filed on Jun. 14, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field Of The Invention

The present invention relates generally to integrated circuitfabrication and, more particularly, to the inspection of semiconductorwafers.

2. Background Of The Related Art

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart which may be related to various aspects of the present inventionwhich are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed tobe helpful in providing the reader with background information tofacilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the presentinvention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statementsare to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Integrated circuits are generally mass produced by fabricating thousandsof identical circuit patterns on a single semiconductor wafer andsubsequently dividing them into identical die or chips. Semiconductorwafers are generally made of silicon. To produce the integrated circuit,many commonly known processes are used to modify, remove, and depositmaterial onto the semiconductor wafer. Processes such as ionimplantation, sputtering, etching, chemical vapor deposition andvariations thereof are among those processes commonly used. Theseprocesses are often selectively applied to an integrated circuit throughthe use of a masking process. In the masking process, a photomaskcontaining the pattern of the structure to be fabricated is created, andthe wafer is coated with a photolithographic material, generally aphotoresist. Next, the resist-coated wafer is exposed to ultravioletlight through a photomask to soften or harden parts of the resist,depending on whether a positive or negative photoresist is used. Oncethe softened parts of the photoresist are removed, the wafer is treatedby one of the processes discussed above to modify, remove, or replacethe part unprotected by the photoresist, and then the remainingphotoresist is stripped from the semiconductor wafer. The maskingprocess permits specific areas of the integrated circuit to be modified,removed, or replaced.

An integrated circuit device is built in three major steps of the waferfabrication process. In the first step, the active and passive parts arefabricated in and on the wafer surface. The last step comprises a seriesof steps which are used to cover the completed chip surface with aprotective layer. The step in between consists of the processes that putone or more layers of conducting metal on the wafer surface and thepatterning process that leaves the circuit components electricallyconnected.

Once the integrated circuit has been built on the silicon wafer, thewafer is evaluated and electrically tested to determine which integratedcircuit die are good so that they may be packaged for use. One of thefundamental methods of evaluating the semiconductor wafer is to inspectthe wafer optically for any visible anomalies. By physically inspectingthe wafer surface, an operator may detect processing pattern flaws orisolated anomalies which may be corrected to increase the yield ofusable integrated circuit die on the semiconductor wafer. Inspectionstations containing a surface to hold the wafer, magnifying devices, andlights are common in the wafer manufacturing process.

Traditionally, a semiconductor wafer is placed in a wafer carrier, suchas a wafer boat or wafer cassette. At various points in the processing,the wafers are physically removed from the wafer carrier by an operatorand placed on an inspection device. Often times, the wafer must bemanually rotated to inspect the entire wafer adequately. Next, the waferis either flipped so that the backside may be inspected at the sameworkstation, or the wafer may be transferred to another inspectionstation to inspect the backside of the wafer. Either way, there is morephysical handling of the wafer by operators. Each time the wafer isphysically handled by an operator, the chances of damaging the waferincrease. Semiconductor wafers are often chipped, cracked, scratched, orbroken due to operator handling errors. Unfortunately, conventionalinspection of the semiconductor wafer necessitates the physical handlingof the semiconductor wafer to manipulate the wafer to examine all areasand both sides of the wafer. What is needed is an inspection devicewhich will allow an operator to inspect all areas and both sides of thewafer with minimal handling of the wafer.

The present invention may address one or more of the problems set forthabove.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Certain aspects commensurate in scope with the originally claimedinvention are set forth below. It should be understood that theseaspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summaryof certain forms the invention might take and that these aspects are notintended to limit the scope of the invention. Indeed, the invention mayencompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an apparatus for inspecting a disc-like substrate. Theapparatus includes a holding structure having members arranged to holdand rotate the substrate about a first axis. The holding structure isconnected to a rotatable member which is configured to rotate theholding structure about a second axis different from the first axis.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of inspecting a semiconductor wafer comprising theacts of: loading the substrate into a holding structure, the substratehaving a first surface and a second surface; inspecting the firstsurface of the substrate by rotating the substrate within the holdingstructure about a first axis, the first axis disposed generallyperpendicular to the surface of the substrate and extending generallythrough the axial center of the substrate; rotating the holdingstructure about a rotatable member to rotate the substrate approximately180° about a second axis, the rotatable member being mechanicallycoupled to the holding structure; inspecting the second surface of thesubstrate; and removing the substrate from the holding structure.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of fabricating an integrated circuit packagecomprising the acts of: disposing a plurality of integrated circuitdevices onto a silicon wafer; inspecting the wafer by: loading the waferinto a wafer holding structure, the wafer having a first surface and asecond surface; inspecting the first surface of the wafer by rotatingthe wafer within the wafer holding structure about a first axis, thefirst axis disposed generally perpendicular to the surface of the waferand extending generally through the axial center of the wafer; rotatingthe wafer holding structure about a rotatable member to rotate the waferapproximately 180° about a second axis, the rotatable member beingmechanically coupled to the wafer holding structure; inspecting thesecond surface of the wafer; and removing the wafer from the waferholding structure; electrically testing the integrated circuit devices;singulating the integrated circuit devices; and packaging selectedsingulated integrated circuit to form respective integrated circuitpackages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other advantages of the invention will become apparentupon reading the following detailed description and upon reference tothe drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary process flow for building an I/C device;

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of a rotating gripper waferflipper;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the rotating gripper waferflipper illustrated in FIG. 2 with a semiconductor wafer loaded in thegripper arms and illustrating the rotational axis;

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a motor assembly in accordance withthe present invention;

FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C illustrate a flipping sequence;

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of the wafer holding structureaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6A illustrates a cross-sectional view of the wedge assemblyillustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 7 illustrates a partial cross-section of the perspective view ofthe rotating gripper wafer flipper illustrated in FIG. 1, taken alongline 5-5; and

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a flow chart of an inspection processaccording to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

One or more specific embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed below. In an effort to provide a concise description of theseembodiments, not all features of an actual implementation may bedescribed in the specification. It should be appreciated that in thedevelopment of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering ordesign project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be madeto achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance withsystem-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from oneimplementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that sucha development effort might be complex and time consuming, but wouldnevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, andmanufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of thisdisclosure.

An integrated circuit device is generally built on a wafer following aflow similar to that illustrated in FIG. 1. First, a substrate material,such as silicon, is provided for wafer fabrication (block 11). Waferfabrication generally includes the fabrication of active and passiveparts on the wafer surface and the deposition of one or more layers ofconductive material which is patterned to electrically connect all ofthe active circuit components. The wafer is then generally covered witha protective material such as a polyamide. Next, the frontside,backside, and edges of the wafer may be inspected visually (block 12).Advantageously, the present invention may facilitate an optimal methodfor inspecting the wafer. Generally, wafer inspection is performed byhuman operators. However, the present invention may be useful inconjunction with an optical sensor, which may be used to inspect a waferwithout human operators. During wafer inspection, the wafer is inspectedfor visual anomalies (block 13). If there are no visual failures, thewafer may be tested for electrical failures (block 14). The goodintegrated circuit devices may then be singulated, commonly by a sawprocess, and then packaged for use in a system (block 15). If there arevisual failures at inspection, it is determined whether the wafer may bere-workable (block 16). If the anomaly is not re-workable, the wafer isgenerally scrapped (block 17). If it is determined that the wafer may bere-workable, the wafer is generally sent to be re-worked to correct theanomaly (block 18). Once the wafer is re-worked, it may be sent back forvisual inspection (block 12) once again.

The present embodiment may be particularly useful during waferinspection (block 12). FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of oneembodiment of a rotating gripper wafer flipper apparatus 5 according tothe present invention. Generally, the apparatus 5 includes a rotatinggripper assembly which comprises a wafer holding structure 10 and aflipper shaft 20. The wafer holding structure 10 is mechanically coupledto the flipper shaft 20. The wafer holding structure 10 is configured tohold a disc-like substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer forinspection. Indeed, as apparent from the following discussion, the waferholding structure 10 may be constructed so that it may holdsemiconductor wafers of differing diameters.

In one embodiment, the flipper shaft 20 is connected to a motorassembly, discussed herein with reference to FIG. 4. The flipper shaft20 may be connected to the motor assembly in any suitable manner, suchas by a series of pulleys (not shown). The motor assembly provides amechanism for flipping the wafer, at least 180° and advantageously 360°,about the flipper shaft 20. As the motor assembly rotates the flippershaft 20, the wafer holding structure 10 and thus the wafer rotatesabout the flipper shaft 20.

FIG. 3 illustrates the apparatus 5, as shown in FIG. 2, with asemiconductor wafer 40 mounted on the wafer holding structure 10. Again,the wafer holding structure 10 is mechanically coupled to the flippershaft 20 whose rotation is driven by the motor assembly. As the motorassembly turns the flipper shaft 20 and the wafer holding structure 10,the semiconductor wafer 40 is permitted to rotate about the axis A-A. Byrotating the semiconductor wafer 40 about the axis A-A, an operatorinspecting the wafer 40 can examine the frontside and the backside ofthe semiconductor wafer 40 at any desired angle, without removing thesemiconductor wafer 40 from the apparatus 5.

The semiconductor wafer 40 is held securely in place by a plurality ofwedge assemblies 50 and 55. Here, the wafer holding structure 10contains three wedge assemblies to hold the semiconductor wafer 40securely in place as it rotates about the axis A-A. Each wedge assembly50 and 55 contains a V-shaped slot in which the semiconductor wafer 40can be deposited. The V-shaped slot in the wedge assembly 50 and 55advantageously contains a rubber material, such as Tygon, to secure thesemiconductor wafer 40 within each wedge assembly 50 and 55. Also, onewedge assembly, here the center wedge assembly 50 (hereinafter referredto as the “drive wheel wedge assembly 50”), may be coupled to a motorassembly (shown in FIG. 4), which rotates the drive wheel wedge assembly50. Rotation of the drive wheel wedge assembly 50 causes thesemiconductor wafer 40 to rotate about an axis B-B disposed generallyperpendicular to the surface of the semiconductor wafer 40 and extendinggenerally through the axial center of the semiconductor wafer 40. Theremaining wedge assemblies 55 in this exemplary embodiment are idlerwheel wedge assemblies 55 which freely rotate as the semiconductor wafer40 is rotated by the drive wheel wedge assembly 50.

One embodiment of the motor assembly 30 is illustrated in FIG. 4. Themotor assembly 30 may be comprised of two stepper motors, one to controlthe flipping and the other to control rotation of the wafer 40, as shownhere. However, a single motor may be used to control both the flippingand rotation of the wafer 40. Any type of motor which may be configuredto provide incremental, non-continuous rotation of a shaft, such as abrushless DC motor or a permanent magnet motor, may be used. In thisembodiment, a pitch motor 22 is configured to turn the flipper shaft 20to rotate the semiconductor wafer 40, 360° about the axis A-A(illustrated in FIG. 3). Flipper drive pulleys 23 and 24 may be drivenby a motor belt 25 which operatively connects the pitch motor 22 to theflipper shaft 20. The rotational drive motor 26 permits rotation of thewafer 40 about the axis B-B (illustrated in FIG. 3). Rotational drivepulleys 27, 28, 29, and 31 are operatively connected between therotational drive motor 26 and the rotational drive shaft (not shown) bymotor drive belts 32 and 33.

While a motorized assembly to control the movement of the apparatus 5has been described, it should be clear that a non-motorized flipperassembly may also be used. Instead of the flipper shaft 20 being coupledto a motor assembly 30, the flipper shaft 20 or the gripper arms 60 (seeFIG. 6) may have an appendage attached thereto, such as a handle (notshown), which will permit manual pitch movement of the wafer about theaxis A-A. Also, a thumb wheel (not shown) may be present in the gripperarms 60 to permit rotation of the wafer generally about the axis B-B. Inother words, virtually any mechanism which will permit rotation of thegripper arms 60 about the axis A-A and permit rotation of the waferabout the axis B-B may be used.

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate a flipping sequence as the wafer holdingstructure 10 is rotated about axis A-A (shown in FIG. 3). FIG. 5Aillustrates the wafer holding structure 10 in a position in which thesemiconductor wafer 40 is parallel to the ground. The frontside of thesemiconductor wafer 40 having several dies formed thereon is face-up toallow an operator to inspect the frontside of the wafer 40. FIG. 5Billustrates the wafer holding structure 10 rotated approximately 45°from its initial position. This permits an operator to inspect thesemiconductor wafer 40 at an angle to detect any anomalous particles ordebris which may be on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 40. FIG.5C illustrates the wafer holding structure 10 rotated 180° from itsstarting point. Here, the backside of the semiconductor wafer 40 is faceup which permits operators to inspect the backside of the semiconductorwafer 40. While the FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate the wafer holding structure10 in three rotatable positions, it should be clear that an operator mayrotate the wafer holding structure to any position, as permitted by theparticular motors used in the apparatus 5, to facilitate inspection ofthe semiconductor wafer 40.

FIG. 6 illustrates a more detailed view of one embodiment of the waferholding structure 10 and the flipper shaft 20. The wafer holdingstructure 10 is comprised of two gripper arms 60. Each gripper arm 60comprises an idler wheel wedge assembly 55. The wafer holding structure10 also comprises a drive wheel wedge assembly 50. The drive wheel wedgeassembly 50 contains a slot in which to deposit a semiconductor wafer(not shown). Likewise, the idler wheel wedge assemblies 55 also containrespective slots to hold a semiconductor wafer. A semiconductor wafer isplaced on the extended flat portions of the wedge assemblies 50 and 55.With the semiconductor wafer resting on the extended flat portions ofthe wedge assemblies 50 and 55, the gripper arms 60 are pulled togetherby tension springs 70. The tension springs 70 permit the gripper arms 60to slide in a horizontal direction. The range of motion of the tensionsprings 70 may be advantageously limited by a stopping mechanism, suchas a post, which insures that the gripper arms will only open wideenough to accommodate the largest wafers. As the tension springs 70 pullthe gripper arms 60 together, the semiconductor wafer is forced upwardalong an incline area on the wedge assemblies 50 and 55 and into thewedge slots on the wedge assemblies 50 and 55. The pressure of thegripper arms 60 provided by the tension springs 70 and the slots in thewedge assemblies 50 and 55 work together to secure the semiconductorwafer within the wafer holding structure 10. The wedge assembly pocketscontain a friction material, such as Tygon, to buffer the semiconductorwafer within the slots. Alternatively, the gripper arms 60 may bepermitted to pivot about joints 65 which may also permit the opening andclosing of the gripper arms to allow loading and unloading of thewafers.

A cross-sectional view of the wedge assembly 50 and 55 is illustrated inFIG. 6A. A wafer (not shown) is placed on the extended flat portion 51of the wedge assembly 50 and 55. As the gripper arms (not shown) closeabout the perimeter of the wafer, the wafer is forced up the inclinedportion 52 of the wedge assembly 50 and 55 and into the wedge slot 53.The wedge slot contains a friction material 54, such as Tygon, to securethe wafer within the wedge assembly 50 and 55. Bearings 56 and 57 willpermit the wedge assembly 50 and 55 to rotate about the wedge shaft 58.

The drive wheel wedge assembly 50 may be coupled to a rotational drivemotor (shown in FIG. 4) to provide rotation of the semiconductor waferabout an imaginary axis disposed generally perpendicular to the surfaceof the wafer and extending generally through the axial center of thewafer. The semiconductor wafer can be flipped by a motor belt turningthe flipper drive pulley 80 which in turn rotates the hollow flippershaft 20. A mounting head 90 locks the flipper shaft 20 to the waferholding structure 10. Retraction mechanisms 100 may be used to preventthe gripper arms 60 of the wafer holding structure 10 from openingwithout the wafer being in an upright horizontal position. Once thegripper arms 60 rotate from an upright and horizontal starting positionso that the retraction mechanisms 100 are pushed into a locked positionwithin the housing of the apparatus 5. This insures that thesemiconductor wafer will not accidentally be released from the waferholding structure 10 during the inspection process. To remove thesemiconductor wafer, the wafer holding structure 10 is rotated to theupright horizontal position, so that the retraction mechanisms 100 canbe extended. The gripper arms 60 are opened so that the semiconductorwafer slides down the inclined portion of the wedge assemblies 50 and55. The semiconductor wafer is then ready to be removed from theinspection apparatus 5.

As previously discussed, while the semiconductor wafer is captured bythe wedge assemblies 50 and 55, it can also be rotated about animaginary axis disposed generally perpendicular to the surface of thewafer and extending generally through the axial center of the wafer. Thetwo idler wheel wedge assemblies 55 are forced inward by the tensioningsprings 70. Since the idler wheel wedge assemblies 55 are advantageouslyoff center of the semiconductor wafer, they force the semiconductorwafer into the drive wheel wedge assembly 50. This tension providesenough friction on the drive wheel wedge assembly 55 so that thesemiconductor wafer can be driven to rotate within the confines of thewedge assemblies 50 and 55. A rotational drive pulley 110 is driven by amotor drive belt connected to a rotational drive motor which turns therotational drive shaft 120 which may be held inside the hollow flippershaft 20. In this embodiment, the flipper shaft 20 is a hollow shaftwith an axial opening extending therethrough. This rotational driveshaft 120 then rotates the drive wheel wedge assembly 50 to rotate thesemiconductor wafer about an axis disposed generally perpendicular tothe surface of the wafer and extending generally through the axialcenter of the wafer. The motors which are connected to the rotationaldrive pulley 110 and the flipper drive pulley 80 which provide for therotation of the semiconductor wafer about axis A-A and axis B-B (shownin FIG. 3), may be controlled by operators using an electro-mechanicaldevice, such as a roller ball or a joy stick.

FIG. 7 illustrates a partial cross-section of the rotating gripper waferflipper apparatus 5 illustrated in FIG. 2, taken along line 5-5. Thisfigure is intended to illustrate one embodiment of the mechanisms usedto rotate the wafer along axis A-A and axis B-B, as illustrated in FIG.3. Beginning first with the flipper shaft system, i.e., the mechanismresponsible for rotating the semiconductor wafer about the axis A-A(illustrated in FIG. 3), the apparatus 5 comprises the flipper shaft 20and the flipper drive pulley 80. The flipper shaft pulley 54 is coupledto the flipper shaft 20 which is connected to the wafer holdingstructure 10. A motor driven belt attached to the flipper drive pulley80 permits rotation of the wafer holding structure 10 about the axisA-A.

One embodiment of the mechanisms used to rotate the semiconductor waferabout the axis B-B (shown in FIG. 3) include the rotational drive shaft120 and the rotational shaft pulley 110. The rotational drive shaft 120may be configured to fit inside the hollow flipper shaft 20. Therotational drive shaft 120 is held inside the hollow flipper shaft 20 byrotational shaft bearings 130 which press fit inside the flipper shaft20. The rotational drive shaft 120 is coupled to the rotational drivepulley 110. The drive pulley 110 may be coupled to a rotational motor bya motor belt (not shown) which permits rotation of the rotational driveshaft 120. The rotational drive shaft 120 is coupled to a worm gear 140.The worm gear 140 is coupled to a worm driven gear 150 which drives thedrive wheel wedge assembly 50 to rotate as the rotational drive shaft120. Both the motors used to control the flipper shaft 20 and therotational drive shaft 120 may be coupled to tools such as a joy stickor a roller ball, which may be controlled by an operator during theinspection process.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrates a flow chart of the inspection process.First, the operator selects a wafer to be inspected, (Step 170). Next,an optical sensor in the inspection station checks the position of thewafer holding structure, (Step 172). That is to say, a sensor may beused to insure that the wafer holding structure is in an uprighthorizontal position such that it may receive a wafer. If the arms arenot in an upright horizontal position, a wafer may not be loaded intothe inspection system. If the arm position is upright and horizontal, awafer can be loaded onto the wafer loading structure so that the waferis placed on the lower flange of the wedge assemblies. The wafer may beloaded manually using a vacuum wand. (Step 174A). Alternately, a roboticarm proximately positioned next to the inspection station may be used todeposit the wafer onto the wafer holding structure. (Step 174B). Next,the gripper arms are closed. (Step 176). As the retraction mechanismsare retracted, the wafer moves from the lower flange, up the inclinedportion of the wedge assemblies, and into the v-shaped slots in thewedge assemblies. (Step 178). At this point, the arm position may bechecked again. (Step 180). In one embodiment, the inspection apparatuscontains an optical sensor which is configured to locate a notch on thefrontside of the wafer to begin the inspection process with the wafer ina predetermined position. Thus, the wafer may be rotated until theoptical sensor senses a notch in the wafer. (Step 182). Next, theinspection of the wafer begins.

To inspect the wafer completely, the wafer may be rotated, plus or minus360° for example, about an axis disposed generally perpendicular to thesurface of the wafer and extending generally through the axial center ofthe wafer. The rotation of the wafer may be driven by operator input,using a joy stick, for example, to control the rotational motor. (Step184). During the inspection process, an operator may inspect the waferat various angles and also inspect the backside of the wafer. Thus, thewafer may be rotated about the flipper shaft (illustrated in FIGS. 2-7).The rotation of the wafer about the flipper shaft may be driven byoperator input using a joy stick to control the pitch motor. (Step 186).Step 184 and Step 186 are iterated until the inspection of the wafer iscomplete, and the operator ends the wafer inspection. (Step 188).

The wafer is rotated to its upright horizontal position. (Step 190). Thegripper arms are then opened. (Step 192) and the wafer slides down theinclined surfaces and on to the lower flanges of the wedge assemblies.(Step 194). At this point, the wafer is removed from the wafer holdingstructure either manually, by use of a vacuum wand or similar apparatusfor example (Step 196A), or automatically using a robot arm for example.(Step 196B). Finally, if there are more wafers to be inspected, theprocess returns to Step 172 and the inspection process can begin again.(Step 198). Otherwise, the inspection is complete.

While the invention may be susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way ofexample in the drawings and have been described in detail, herein.However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended tobe limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention isto cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the followingappended claims.

1. A method of fabricating an integrated circuit package comprising theacts of: (a) disposing a plurality of integrated circuit devices onto asilicon wafer; (b) inspecting the wafer, wherein inspecting comprisesthe acts of: (i) loading the wafer into a wafer holding structure, thewafer having a first surface and a second surface; (ii) inspecting thefirst surface of the wafer by rotating the wafer within the waferholding structure about a first axis, the first axis disposed generallyperpendicular to the surface of the wafer and extending generallythrough the axial center of the wafer; (iii) rotating the wafer holdingstructure about a rotatable member to rotate the wafer approximately180° about a second axis, the rotatable member being mechanicallycoupled to the wafer holding structure; (iv) inspecting the secondsurface of the wafer; and (v) removing the wafer from the wafer holdingstructure. (c) electrically testing the integrated circuit devices; (d)singulating the integrated circuit devices; and (e) packaging selectedsingulated integrated circuit devices to form respective integratedcircuit packages.
 2. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein act(b)(1) comprises the acts of: (a) opening gripper arms of the waferholding structure; (b) inserting the wafer into a wedge assembly on thegripper arms; (c) retracting the wedge assembly; and (d) closing thegripper arms.
 3. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein act (b)(2)comprises the act of rotating the wafer within the wafer holdingstructure until a notch on the first surface of the wafer is opticallysensed.
 4. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein act (b)(2)comprises the act of rotating the wafer within the wafer holdingstructure with a wedge assembly mechanically coupled to a drive motor,the wedge assembly being coupled to the wafer.
 5. The method as setforth in claim 4, comprising controlling the rotation of the wafer usingan operator driven joystick coupled to control the drive motor.
 6. Themethod as set forth in claim 1, wherein act (b)(3) comprises the act ofrotating the wafer holding structure about a rotatable member using apitch motor, the pitch motor being operably coupled to the rotatablemember.
 7. The method as set forth in claim 6, comprising controllingthe rotation of the wafer using an operator driven joystick coupled tocontrol the pitch motor.
 8. A method of fabricating an integratedcircuit package comprising the acts of: disposing a plurality ofintegrated circuit devices onto a silicon wafer; and inspecting thewafer, wherein inspecting comprises: placing the wafer into a waferholding structure, the wafer having a first surface and a secondsurface; rotating the wafer within the wafer holding structure about afirst axis to inspect the first surface; rotating the wafer holdingstructure about a rotatable member to flip the wafer about a second axisdifferent than the first axis to inspect the second surface, therotatable member being mechanically coupled to the wafer holdingstructure; and removing the wafer from the wafer holding structure. 9.The method as set forth in claim 8, comprising the acts of: electricallytesting the integrated circuit devices; singulating the integratedcircuit devices; and packaging selected singulated integrated circuitdevices to form respective integrated circuit packages.
 10. The methodas set forth in claim 8, wherein: the first axis is generally orthogonalto the first and second surfaces of the wafer and extends generallythrough an axial center of the wafer; and the second axis is generallyorthogonal to the first axis.
 11. The method as set forth in claim 8,wherein the act of inspecting the first surface comprises the act ofusing members of the holding structure to hold and rotate the substrateabout the first axis.
 12. The method as set forth in claim 8, whereinthe act of rotating the wafer holding structure comprises the act ofrotating the wafer holding structure approximately 180° about therotatable member.
 13. The method as set forth in claim 8, wherein therotatable member comprises a shaft.
 14. A method of manufacturing anintegrated circuit package comprising the acts of: disposing a pluralityof integrated circuit devices onto a substrate; and inspecting thesubstrate having the integrated circuit devices, wherein the inspectioncomprises: placing the wafer into a wafer holding structure, the waferhaving a first surface and a second surface; rotating the wafer withinthe wafer holding structure about a first axis to inspect the firstsurface; rotating the wafer holding structure about a second axisdifferent than the first axis to inspect the second surface; andremoving the wafer from the wafer holding structure.
 15. The method asset forth in claim 14, comprising the act of electrically testing theintegrated circuit devices.
 16. The method as set forth in claim 14,comprising the act of separating the integrated circuit devices.
 17. Themethod as set forth in claim 16, comprising packaging a selection of theseparated integrated circuit devices.
 18. The method as set forth inclaim 14, wherein: the first axis is substantially perpendicular to thefirst and second surfaces of the wafer, and extends generally throughthe axial center of the wafer; and the second axis is substantiallyparallel to the first and second surfaces of the wafer.
 19. The methodas set forth in claim 14, wherein the act of rotating the substratewithin the holding structure comprises the act of rotating the substrateusing at least one member of the holding structure.
 20. The method asset forth in claim 14, wherein the act of placing the substrate into aholding structure comprising the act of inserting the substrate intomembers of the holding structure, the members configured to rotate thesubstrate.
 21. The method as set forth in claim 20, wherein the membersof the holding structure comprise wedge assemblies disposed on gripperarms.
 22. The method as set forth in claim 21, wherein the act ofinserting the substrate into the members of the holding structurecomprising wedge assemblies comprises the act of opening and closing thegripper arms about a perimeter of the substrate using tension springsdisposed in the holding structure to insert the substrate into the wedgeassemblies.